The personal profile that you fill out on any online dating sites that you use will be one of the most important parts of your online dating experience and will be a big factor in how positive that experience will be. Your online dating profile will be the online face that you present to the other users of that dating site and will give the potential matches their first impression of you. The online profile is your chance to make a positive first impression and make sure that desirable matches stay and read more about you and decide that they want to know you better.
It is this importance that makes filling out your online dating profile one of the hardest things you will ever do online. It is difficult to know what you should say. There are so many questions and many of them ask you to write a long answer. It’s hard to write a profile, much less a great one that will get noticed.
It is a fact that when you sit down at the computer to fill in a profile, your mind can go completely blank. It can happen to the best of us. With that in mind, here are 11 tips to help you create a great online profile and help break the writer’s block.
1) The first thing that you need to do is to work on your handle. This is the name that everyone will know you by on the site. I strongly recommend that you not use your real name. I would not even use a fake name. Try to come up with an unusual and intriguing name. It should be something that makes people interested enough to want to find out more. Be careful choosing this. Most dating sites will not let you change it.
2) Up next is your tagline. This is usually a one liner that is displayed under your handle and next to your photo. You can change this one if you think of a better one. This is like a one phrase introduction to who you are. Try to sum up what makes you special in one sentence. If you can’t think of anything that describes you, try a something funny or a quote from a famous person.
3) The “About Me” section is probably the most important section of your online dating profile. Other people will read this to decide if they want to contact you or not. You have to tell everyone what makes you tick and why you are special. It is basically an advertisement of you and you should spend the most time on this. Pick out four or five things that really set you apart. “Why are you interesting?” is a good question to answer here.
4) Be honest in your entire profile, especially in the “about me” section. Your dates will base their decisions on your profile. If you lie in the profile, you are basing a relationship off something that is not true. Just imagine saying that you love cats when you can’t stand them. The person you end up dating might have a house full of them that you now have to adopt. Always be honest and that will get you farther in the long run.
5) Be positive. Focus on the good things. Don’t spend time talking about negative things in your online dating profile. Really look over what you write and make sure that it is not negative. When you find something that sounds bad, spin it and make it positive. Always look on the bright side. Your profile will sound better and more people will respond to you.
6) Be unique. After you have read several people’s online dating profiles then you will notice that many of them sound similar. They use the same sentence structure, the same adjectives, and everything sounds just the same. Find a way to express yourself and tell your story without being boring. People will get sucked into your profile if it is interesting and different from what they are used to reading.
7) Write in your natural style and voice. A good way to do this is to write the same way you talk. You are not writing this profile for your senior high school English teacher. Its purpose is to get other people interested in you. Writing so that you sound natural is a great way to do this. Here is a great tip. Imagine you have a chance to tell your ideal date about you in only one minute. Give yourself five or ten minutes to think of what to say to show them who you really are. Then record yourself as you pretend to talk to them. Now play it back and type out what you said.
8 ) Another important section of your online dating profile is the “About You” section. This is the section where you describe what your perfect date is like. Make sure that you are specific about what you are looking for. If you want a lifelong partner, say so. If you are just looking to fool around, make sure your readers know this. Any traits that would be a deal breaker should be mentioned too. For example, if you can’t stand smoking, be sure everyone knows this.
9) When you begin describing what you are looking for be specific but don’t limit yourself too much. I recommend including all the qualities you feel strongly about. If you will only date a Christian, then you should include this. Limiting yourself too much will really reduce the number of dates you get. Forget about mentioning small stuff, you can always decide not to go on a date later. Listing that you only want to date someone with black hair, blue eyes, and perfect teeth will only get you responses from those people. You might miss someone with brown hair who would be perfect for you.
10) One thing I want you to keep in mind is that all of this can be changed as you continue to use online dating services. Except for your handle, which can usually not be changed. Don’t stress out too much about getting everything perfect the first time. Go back and change it as you think of better things to say. I would recommend changing your photo and your tagline on a regular basis. This will make you more interesting and might get some additional responses for you.
11) The last tip I want to leave you with is to proofread your profile. It sounds so simple and everyone says they do it. But if everyone does it, why do so many have grammar and spelling mistakes? Do yourself a favor. Check your profile for mistakes. Take a break and then come back and read it out loud. If it sounds bad, change it.
Your success in online dating really does come down to how well you can write your online dating profile. Follow these tips and keep changing it until it is right and you will do very well. Here is to wishing you the best of luck.